Methods and Metrics

Methods-each indicator is described below. The source of COVID-19 case data is SC DHEC and the CDC: 

Indicators

*New Weekly Covid-19 Hospital Admissions Per 100k Population– This is the average number of COVID-19 patients admitted to hospitals per 100k people. These data are reported by CDC and are available at: https://data.cdc.gov/Public-Health-Surveillance/United-States-COVID-19-Community-Levels-by-County/3nnm-4jni

*Wastewater Graphics-The graph showing trends in COVID-19 wastewater concentrations was derived from utilizing data on daily normalized COVID-19 wastewater concentrations archived by CDC: https://covid.cdc.gov/covid-data-tracker/#wastewater-surveillance. These data are updated when they become available from the CDC (usually every two weeks).

*Percentage of South Carolina's Population (Aged 12+) Who Received 2 doses of Vaccine– This is the percentage of the aggregate number of people who have currently been vaccinated by county with two doses of a vaccine. This metric does not include individuals who may move across state lines in order to access vaccines. These data are reported by DHEC and is available at: https://scdhec.gov/covid19/covid-19-data

*Weekly Percentage of Emergency Department Visits with a COVID-19 Diagnosis-This is the weekly percentage of people in ED visits in South Carolina with a COVID-19 diagnosis. These percentages are drawn from the CDC and are available at: https://covid.cdc.gov/covid-data-tracker/#trends_weeklyhospitaladmissions_7dayeddiagnosed_45

*Average Weekly Deaths due to COVID-19-This is the average number of weekly deaths due to COVID-19 per 100k people in South Carolina. These data are drawn from: https://covid.cdc.gov/covid-data-tracker/#trends_weeklydeaths_totaldeathratecrude_45

 

 

*Summary of Infectious Disease News- This box summarizes weekly highlights of infectious disease news from around the world. The source data are drawn from local and international news reports. The World Health Organization and Centers for Disease Control are key sources of the news summary. The latest in infectious disease surveillance news is drawn from literature reviews and key surveillance from scientific journals. These data are updated weekly.

*Household Pulse Survey-These data are drawn from The U.S. Census Bureau’s Household Pulse Survey as part of an ongoing partnership between the Census Bureau and The National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS) and includes questions to assess the prevalence of post-COVID-19 conditions (long COVID), on the experimental Household Pulse Survey. These data are weighted, and the details can be found at: https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/covid19/pulse/long-covid.htm

   

Covid-19 Impact Criterion for Level Status:

These community risk levels are informed by The Center for Disease Control's calculation of COVID-19 risk and public health recommendations. The thresholds are for the Midlands Area (Kershaw, Richland, and Fairfield). Further information can be found on the CDC website (Center for Disease Control and Prevention Website).

We report the growth rate of COVID-19 volumes detected in wastewater and average weekly hospital admissions per 100k people. Risk Levels are defined as follows: Low, Medium, and High.

LOW: Both the level of COVID-19 detected in wastewater and average weekly hospital admissions have been stable or declining for three consecutive weeks, or the average weekly hospital admissions are less than 10 per 100k population.

MEDIUM: Both the level of COVID-19 detected in wastewater and average weekly hospital admissions have been trending upwards for two consecutive weeks, or the average weekly hospital admissions are between 10-19.9 per 100k population.

HIGH: Either the level of COVID-19 detected in wastewater is increasing by more than 50%, and average weekly hospital admissions have been trending upwards for three consecutive weeks, or the average weekly hospital admissions are greater than 20 per 100k population.

*Metrics shown reflect the day events occurred, not the day they were reported. DHEC releases data on a weekly basis.